How an HVAC website project runs

A typical project runs in six stages over six to nine weeks: brief, audit, structure and copy, design and build, launch, and care. You make decisions at three points: approving the page plan, approving the copy and design, and signing off on launch. Everything is tested on real phones before the site goes live.

The six stages

1. Brief

   You complete the brief builder or a short call. We confirm goals, services, service area, booking approach, plan details and any compliance needs such as license display rules in your state.

2. Audit

   For existing sites, we review traffic and Search Console data, crawl every URL and note which pages bring calls. For new businesses, we look at what homeowners in your area see when they search.

3. Structure and copy

   We write a page map and draft copy for the main pages. You review it with your team. This is where most of the important decisions happen.

4. Design and build

   Layouts are designed mobile first and built with accessibility and speed targets in mind. Booking, plan signup and forms are connected and tested.

5. Launch

   Redirects, sitemap, Search Console, analytics, call tracking and form delivery are checked on launch day. We test on real phones before and after.

6. Care

   Optional ongoing care covers updates, backups, monitoring and seasonal content changes before each peak season.

Typical timeline

These are the time ranges we plan for a small to mid sized contractor site. Larger sites with many service areas or complex integrations take longer, and we say so in the written scope.

What we need from you

• A decision maker. One person who can approve the page plan, copy and design.
• Access. Domain registrar, current hosting, Google Business Profile, analytics and Search Console, or help to set them up in your name.
• Your knowledge. What you do best, the towns you want, how your office books jobs, plan terms and financing partners.
• Proof you can show. License numbers, insurance details if you display them, real reviews with permission to quote, and real photos.

Timing around the seasons

Launching a new site in the middle of your busiest weeks is risky, because any problem lands when you can least deal with it. We aim to launch in shoulder months, late spring or early fall, so the site is settled before peak heating or cooling demand. If you need a faster launch, we plan extra testing and keep the old site ready to restore.

How we check the work

Before launch, every page goes through checks that match our editorial standards:

• Titles and descriptions reviewed for each page.
• Facts about regulations, credits and rules checked against primary sources and dated.
• Forms submitted from real phones, call links tapped, booking flows completed.
• Accessibility checks for contrast, keyboard use, labels and target sizes against WCAG 2.2 AA as a working target.
• Speed checks against Google's Core Web Vitals thresholds.
• No fake reviews, invented statistics or unverifiable badges anywhere on the site.

After launch

For the first few weeks we watch Search Console for crawl errors and any unexpected drops, check that leads arrive and fix anything that was missed. After that, the site moves onto a care plan or into your own hands with a handover document explaining how to update it.

How decisions are recorded

Projects slow down when decisions get lost between calls, texts and emails. We keep one shared decision log for each project: what was decided, by whom and when. If the office manager approves the service area list and the owner later asks why a town is missing, the log shows the decision and makes it easy to change. You can see the log at any time.

Review rounds

The written scope states how many review rounds are included for copy and design. Two focused rounds tend to work better than many small ones. We ask for all feedback on a draft in one place, ideally from the person who will sign off, so comments from different people do not contradict each other.

What a handover includes

At launch you receive:

• Login details for every account, in your name.
• A short guide to updating prices, offers, hours and text.
• The redirect map, for redesigns.
• A list of pages with their titles and descriptions.
• The seasonal content calendar.
• Notes on any third party tools connected to the site, with the account owner for each.

If you later move to another provider, this handover gives them everything they need to continue.